Afternoon Drive: The Chevy Nomad Made Station Wagons Cool (22 Photos)

Despite the fact that many cars on the road today feature all of the same characteristics of the traditional “station wagon,” none of these cars will wear the label with pride. Instead, ambiguous titles like “crossover” or the now loosely defined “sport-utility vehicle” are what most car-based, long-roofed people-movers go by when their makers are looking for a label.

Before the auto industry dubbed the term poisonous-to-sales, the ’60s and ’70s produced some killer station wagons that could not only flew, but allowed you to take your friends along with you.

The ultimate wagon came about in with the Chevy Nomad. In 1955, the Nomad was based on the popular Bel Air, and this car had all of the bells and whistles of its coupe-counterpart, plus looks like no other car on the road. It first debuted at the GM Motorama in 1954 as one of legendary GM head-stylists Harley Earl’s “dream cars.”

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